I remember seeing quite a few Rover police cars on the roads back in the 70s, and they also featured quite often in crime-related, British TV dramas. These powerful (and thirsty!) British saloon cars were produced at Solihull in the West Midlands between 1963 and 1977, with just over 322,000 models being built in total.

The first model to grace our roads was the Rover 2000, and they featured advanced technology (for the time) such as disc brakes (front and back), a de Dion tube suspension system and synchromesh transmission. It was also an extremely safe car and won many awards for safety.

My grandad owned a P6 model in the mid 1970s, although what I remember most is him complaining about the lack of luggage space! I've learned since that this downfall is mainly due to the base unit construction of the car, the spare tyre and the complex suspension arrangement at the rear. The batteries also took up space on series 2 models.

This 3500 has a boot lid mounting for the tyre to solve the luggage space problems, as space was also needed for the battery (which is fitted to the right side of the boot) due to the large engine size.

Royalty free photo of a black 1973 Rover 3500. The three models in the P6 series were named after their engine size - 2000, 2200 and 3500. This model was built between 1968 and 1977 with just over 810,000 produced. It featured a 3.5 litre V8 OHV engine.

This P6 VVC 700S was the last ever model to come off the production line and it is seen here in its original condition (in 2006), never having been restored and with just 12,300 miles on the clock - amazing, and I love the green colour!